Jesse Malin & Friends Serve NYC Slice of Punk

The former D Generation frontman celebrates his New York eatery, the Pizza Shop, with help from famed rock photographer Bob Gruen.

It might be true that the landscape of New York City isn’t lacking in pizza shops — both decent and, well, not so decent — but the official grand opening of rock’n’roll pie palace the Pizza Shop on Wednesday night, June 25, was far removed from the usual slice stop.

Musicians and close friends Jesse Malin, Johnny T (who runs the neighboring bar Niagara with Malin), and chef Kevin Cole (previously of NYC’s renowned Two Boots pizzeria) renovated and re-designed the Pizza Shop in an East Village space that’s been serving up slices since the ’60s. The three rockers have added a truly unique touch to the establishment, from hanging records on the wall to projections of kung fu and surf movies in the back.

What makes the Pizza Shop truly unique, however, is its rotating series of limited-edition boxes in which the (quite delicious) pies are peddled. Each design will feature rock imagery by well-known and local artists, with only 1,500 of each being produced.Famed rock photographer (and close friend of Malin) Bob Gruen lent a photo of the Clash, taken in 1979, for the first edition of boxes, giving the cardboard containers an appropriately gritty look. SPIN.com got a chance to talk to Malin, Johnny T, Cole, and Gruen about the shop’s inception, future projects, and what they prefer on their pizza:

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